VESALIUS COLLEGE vzw/asbl Fall 2013

Transcription

1 VESALIUS COLLEGE vzw/asbl Fall 2013 Course Syllabus LFR201G Intermediate French I Julie Delcourt holds a Master s Degree in Linguistics from the Université Catholique de Louvain. During her studies, she was a French language assistant at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and taught French to adults newly arrived in Belgium. Today, she teaches French at Vesalius College, at Doctors Without Borders and at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She also assists her husband in developing their Belgian publishing house, Ker Editions. Contact Details for Professor Tel: julie.delcourt@gmail.com Office hours and location: On Mondays: 12:00-13:30 On Wednesdays: 9:00-10:00 On Fridays: 13:00-13:30 Course Prerequisites (if any) Students should be able to use the following grammatical materials. If they find their knowledge is lacking, they should contact the instructor immediately for remediation. Conjugation of verbs ending in -ER, -RE, -IR, -OIR Conjugation of major irregular verbs Possessive pronouns General use of articles Masculin and féminin of nouns and adjectives, general use Negation and interrogation Futur proche and futur simple Passé recent Passé composé with avoir and être, l accord and basic application Pronoms compléments directs (COD) and pronoms compléments indirects (COI), Y et EN Indications de lieu : à, en, aux,... and basic prepositions

2 Students should also master basic vocabulary including: Presenting yourself and others, talking about your hobby s, studies, home & family. Being able to respond to and give directions Booking a train ticket, a hotel room, or a hostel, and interact with officials Write a short letter or a postcard Food and drinks Describing preference & dislike Learning Objectives After this course, students will have the following language skills, and should be able to: Talk about personal preferences in various fields Give, ask and justify a personal opinion Compare different situations and events Make an oral presentation Participate in class discussions Acquire a certain fluency in producing spoken French To enable students to produce correct written and oral language, grammatical material will be taught accordingly to reach these objectives. This course includes another objective, namely making sure that the students feel confident in using French to their abilities. Language acquisition can be done in four different ways: speaking, reading, writing and listening, and this course will include all. Course Description Revision During the course, we will revise some previously studied items of French grammar. There will be a quiz on the revised items. Essay You will have to write several essays. The essay can be general or linked with your presentations or a studied topic. It will be graded by the professor. Students need to keep a logbook of their errors and corrections, and for each essay a general feedback will be given by the instructor. Presentation You will make several presentations related to a topic studied in class. The presentation of the article and the explanation of the vocabulary should take about 10 minutes maximum. Original ways of presenting the article and the vocabulary (games, skits, films,... ) are very much encouraged. You will have to prepare a summary of your presentation and the vocabulary list and send both of them to the instructor. You will then present in class but you need to bring a copy of the vocabulary list and of the summary for everyone. All oral activities that we do during these moments are destined to make the students feel more at ease while speaking French.

3 Grammar Acquisition The grammar explanations will be lecture style, the exercises will be done in class or at home. The aim of this part is not to «see» the grammar, but to «use it in our daily speech». That is why we will make a lot of oral exercises to integrate every newly seen grammar point in your speech. The following grammatical material will be taught: - Révision sur le présent, les prépositions, l adjectif possessif, la négation - Les articles définis, indéfinis et partitifs - Les adjectifs, l accord et la place des adjectifs - Pronoms compléments directs (COD) and pronoms compléments indirects (COI), Y et EN - Le passé composé - L imparfait - Le passé composé ET l imparfait - Le plus-que-parfait - Le subjonctif et les conjonctions subjonctives Vocabulary Acquisition For that part, we will read texts, study vocabulary, make exercises and engage in practical activities. Vocabulary lectures will always be revolved around a specific theme. During this time the students will also discover various aspects of the Belgian culture and mentality. We will watch films/documentaries in French (without English subtitles) and participating in various activities concerning these (role-plays, surveys...). Once again: the aim of this part is not to just «see» the vocabulary, but to «use it in your daily speech». That is why we will make a lot of oral exercises in order to integrate the new vocabulary (words, idiomatic expressions ) in your speech. Oral participation is therefore very much encouraged if you are willing to improve your French and get good results. Course Materials 1) J. Delcourt, Intermediate French, Vesalius College 2013 (handouts given in class) 2) A dictionary (French/ First language First language/french). You can find one at Fnac, Waterstones, 3) Any grammar or exercise book to keep up with the class work

4 Grading Scale of Vesalius College Vesalius College grading policy, in line with the Flemish Educational norms, is now as stated follows: Grade Scale of 20 Scale of 100 A A B B B C C C D D F Below Grades tend to be lower in Europe than in the US! A B is good and a C is satisfactory. However, most Study Abroad students generally are used to higher grades. To obtain an A, you will have to put in the necessary work. Course Assessment The students will be evaluated on the basis of their performance as follows: Test 20% Announced tests (grammar tests, vocabulary tests and revision) Présentation en classe 10% Both the presentation and the participation in the class discussions. Class conversation 10% Active contribution to the class. You ve made your exercises and you do your best to speak French in class + physical attendance! Essays 10% Mid- term exam 20% Final exam 30% Total 100% Further description of assessment activities: a) Test: during this semester, you will have a series of tests. You need to be there in class on the date of the tests!! Not showing up without a medical certificate will result in failing said test. Each test covers a limited amount of course material and is given at certain intervals, at least after each unit, to ensure every student is keeping up with the course work. No test is given the week after break, for obvious reasons.

5 b) Essays: several essays will be given during the semester. These are individual written assignments. I will correct and grade it and you will have to find and correct yourself your mistakes. - You need to make sure that you wrote all the necessary accents in French. Accents are extremely important in French. Incorrect accents will have a negative impact on your grade. Try to use as much vocabulary and grammar that you ve studied so far and seen in class. Be creative, take risks but not inconsiderately. c) Exercises: preparation work will be asked after and before each class. It will not be graded directly, but some of these exercises will be corrected in class, and these exercises are mandatory. If you prepare well, you will be able to participate, which will have direct and positive impact on your participation grade. I will randomly check in your exercise books whether you have made this work. This is really only to help you and make sure you are keeping up with the course. d) Oral French in class: You are here to improve your French, so you have to talk in French! What one the main goal of the course is making you feel confident while speaking French. If someone even thinks to laugh at you, that person is not welcome in my class anymore! As I wrote before, mistakes are an essential part of language acquisition. d) Présentation : you will have to present a topic in French. Original ways of presenting the topic (games, skits, films... ) are very much encouraged. e) Mid term and final examinations: they will be given at set dates. The final examination also includes an oral part, which consists of a presentation the subject of which will be given during the final week of class. The most important element in this course is your individual progress and the effort you put in towards learning French. It doesn t matter if you make mistakes, as long as you learn from them. After all, that is the essential mechanism of any learning process. Take notes: Everything that will be said in class is supposed to be known. Not everything is written in your syllabus. Take notes, write the new vocabulary, translations, new structures, verbs

6 Grading Criteria The following criteria will be applied in assessing your written work: Evidence of understanding what has been seen in class. Spelling (it is very important for you to study the spelling in French!!) Vocabulary Use of the correct conjugation Use of the correct article Sentences structures Before every assignment, precise directions will be provided to help you focus on the graded criteria. Additional Course Policies If you are sick Everyone can be sick. You are in Belgium after all, with a climate that can sometimes be nasty. Nevertheless, if you are sick and need to miss class, you need a doctor s note when you come back to class. This is school policy. If you miss an exam, a test or do not hand in your homework in time without a doctor s note, you will get a 0 for said homework/test/exam. If you miss a regular class without a doctor s note, it will have an impact on your participation mark. If you have a doctor s note, you will need to hand in your homework as soon as you come back. As far as tests and exams are concerned, we will discuss when and how you will take said test or exam. If you are late Try to be as punctual as possible. However, should you be late, please enter quietly without disrupting the class nor making noise. Students are not allowed to add this class later than before the first class of week 3, because otherwise the amount of knowledge they will have to catch up on will be too big. Late homework policy As stated before, if you miss the deadline, you will get a 0 for that assignment, unless you bring a doctor s note. Absence from class Attendance in class is compulsory and recorded at every class. If you are sick, warn the school and they will notify your teachers. You will also have to bring a doctor s note when you return to school. If you miss class for any other reason, send an to me (julie.delcourt@gmail.com), preferably in advance as to explain why you cannot attend class (study abroad field excursions are no valid excuse for absence in class and will reflect on your class participation grade!). It is your responsibility to keep up with the course work, and ask the necessary explanations if you don t understand. I will assume that you take the initiative to catch up on what you have missed and ask for notes and explanations, including assignments, from your fellow students. I will NOT go running after you to inform you about things said in class while you were absent.

7 Behaviour in class Eating. Being impolite towards the instructor and fellow students The use of a laptop computer, unless you have a documented learning disability that requires it. The use of a cell phone. Academic Honesty Statement Academic dishonesty is NOT tolerated in this course. Academic honesty is not only an ethical issue but also the foundation of scholarship. Cheating and plagiarism are therefore serious breaches of academic integrity. Following the College policy, cheating and plagiarism cases will be communicated in writing to the Associate Dean for Students and submitted to the Student Conduct Committee for disciplinary action. If you refer to someone else s work, appropriate references and citations must be provided. Grammar, spelling and punctuation count, so use the tools necessary to correct before handing in assignments. Cheating at tests and exams will expose you to the fine penalties described in the course catalog, check the section on academic integrity for further details. The instructor is well informed about the most common cheating techniques, so don t even attempt them. According to the College policy, stringent security measures will be taken at exams.